12 Reasons to Join The Oregon Athletic Bands
by Nicole Stanger and Kate Rohrich
12. Our uniforms aren’t traditional… and that’s a good thing.
We don’t have to wear bibs or wool. Our uniforms are super freaking comfortable. With the constant changing weather in Eugene, our uniforms allow us to stay cool when its hot and warm when its not. Also, our vests are reversible so we can keep things fresh.
11. We get swag.
Dang, them Nikes though… No one else can buy our custom-made shoes. Want a pair? You’ll have to join the band.
10. We’re always on TV.
15 minutes of fame after your first year? Check. #famous
9. We travel. A lot.
Because the OMB supports one of the best football teams in the country, we tend to get invited to go to things like the Rose Bowl and, you know, the first ever College Football Playoff National Championship game. Plus, it’s free for us and we get this great little thing called per diem. #nobigdeal #wewokeuplikethis
8. No fighting it out for football tickets.
While the entire student body (especially the freshmen) has to struggle to get one of the limited numbers of student tickets, we never have to worry about that. We have a pass to every home football game and get to spend the whole day with our friends, playing music, supporting our team and going crazy just like all the other fans there.
7. We get to perform here.
If you want to perform in front of 54,000+ people each home game, Autzen Stadium has got you covered. Now isn’t that a little bigger than your average high school stadium? Also the noise our fans make is absolutely ridiculous.
6. You’ll live in Eugene.
Trust me, when band camp rolls around and everyone else is dying of a million degree weather, you will be happy to know that the weather in Eugene is just about never too hot or too cold. Eugene is beautiful at almost any time of year.
5. We get to hangout with this guy.
The Duck is our best friend. What other mascot has as much swag and can be adorable as him? Name one. Yeah that’s right there isn’t one.
He also likes to steal our instruments and try to conduct the band, but it’s okay because we love him.
4. We run the show.
Our band is a student led organization. Students are given the opportunity to develop leadership skills through becoming one of many Section Leaders or one of four Drum Majors. Not only do we look cool, but we know what we’re doing. The OMB is also fortunate enough to have two awesome groups whose purposes are to make the OMB better. The Oregon Athletic Band Council makes decisions like what shows we want to perform, how to make our game days more awesome and then communicates that to our director, and Kappa Kappa Psi is the National Honorary Band Fraternity that focuses on building better leaders and community within the band.
3. Our rendition of the Star Spangled Banner will give you chills.
Performing the national anthem in a crowded stadium is one of the best experiences in the OMB, especially when we get to do perform it at a game like the Rose Bowl. At the loudest part, the banner silks are run across the field, through rows of band members, to create the American flag, fireworks go off in the background and the crowd goes wild. Seriously, chills.
2. You’ll make your best friends here.
From the first week of band camp freshman year, you’ll make lifelong friends. Long days, emotional games, and rainy rehearsals… we stick it out together and there’s no doubt that everyone shares a bond.
Ask 90% of OMB members and they’ll say they found their roommates in the band. We spend long days together, are in clubs together and live together; you think we’d all be sick of each other. But we love it and love being around each other. #daww
1. We’re a family.
The OMB is a family and through thick and thin, we’re there for each other. Even if you don’t know everyone in the band personally, we’re still connected. Years after graduation, you’ll still have that network of support, not to mention incredible friends and amazing memories.